1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a condenser holding apparatus included in a natural draft refrigerator and, more particularly, to such apparatus which permits the condenser to move between a shipping position and an in-use position so that the refrigerator occupies less space when in the shipping condition than it does when in the in-use condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Household refrigerators of the natural draft type generally have a condenser extending along the rear outside wall of the refrigerator cabinet and depend upon natural convection currents to provide air circulation past the condenser for carrying heat away from the condenser. Sufficient air space for air circulation around the condenser is critical to most natural draft refrigerator designs. In order to provide sufficient space for air circulation around the condenser, the condenser must be spaced away from the rear wall of the refrigerator. Preferably, there is also provided a wall spacer element attached to the condenser and extending outwardly therefrom away from the rear wall of the refrigerator to provide positive spacing between the condenser and an adjacent wall of the room in which the refrigerator is placed. Additionally, for best air circulation, it is preferable, but not essential, that the condenser be tilted with reference to the rear wall of the refrigerator cabinet, the refrigerator rear wall and the condenser thereby forming a V configuration when viewed from either side of the refrigerator.
In one type of prior art natural draft refrigerator, the bottom of the condenser is held relatively close to the rear wall of the refrigerator and fluid connections between the condenser tubing and the compressor and other apparatus located within the refrigerator cabinet are conveniently made near the bottom of the condenser. The top of the condenser is spaced from and held a further distance from the rear wall of the refrigerator by a unitary holding clip having one end attached to the refrigerator rear wall, an intermediate spacing portion extending between the refrigerator rear wall and the condenser, a holding portion for securely holding the refrigerator condenser in a fixed position, and a further wall spacer portion extending outwardly from the condenser. This unitary holding clip holds the top of the condenser a predetermined distance from the rear wall of the refrigerator and additionally includes a wall spacer to provide positive spacing between the condenser and the adjacent wall of the room.
However, unitary holding clips of the above-described type, by holding the condenser in an in-use position at all times, result in a refrigerator which is unnecessarily bulky during shipping and storage. It is desirable to provide a natural draft refrigerator which takes up less space during shipping and storage than when in use, thereby resulting in a lower carton cost and possibly resulting in a greater number of refrigerators being accommodated by a single railroad car or other conveyance for shipping.
One approach which has been considered for reducing package size during shipping and storage is the provision of a separate shipping clip which would hold the condenser immediately adjacent the refrigerator cabinet during shipping. During installation of the refrigerator, the shipping clip would be removed and replaced with the heretofore described unitary holding clip. However, such an approach is uneconomical because the increased cost in time and labor involved in installing the refrigerator outweigh the advantages of smaller size during shipping and storage.
By the present invention, there is provided a natural draft refrigerator which takes up less space during shipping and in storage than during use, and which may readily be installed with a minimum of installer time and effort.